Happy New Year from the Town of Flower Mound Cultural Arts Commission!

December was a month rich with cultural arts programs and events in Flower Mound and the surrounding areas. It’s our hope that most of you had an opportunity to take advantage of the arts this past month. From the 28th Annual Christmas Parade in Flower Mound to “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” at the Winspear Oprea House in Dallas, there was an arts program for every taste, age and price range, either within a short drive or right here in our own backyard.

I had the opportunity to see several theatrical events in December, including the Grinch musical and “The King and I” in Dallas. Theatre3 Dallas produced “Solstice,” a play celebrating the shortest day in the northern hemisphere and it was terrific. It was a collection of stories from around the globe that were thought provoking and satisfying to watch.

Christmas Eve weekend the Vocal Majority Chorus featured their 2017 holiday show, “North Side Story,” at the Eisemann, in Richardson. Their holiday show traditionally is a combination of secular songs and humor and the second half features the sacred music of the season. The musical directors of the much awarded Vocal Majority, father and son, Jim and Greg Clancy, are both Flower Mound residents and so are many of the chorus members. Their spring and holiday shows are always worth seeing. Trietsch Church hosted two wonderful holiday programs – “Scrooge, the Musical” and the holiday concert from the Voices of Flower Mound, the Trietsch Choir and the Flower Mound Symphony. When Trietsch produces a musical, you should definitely try to see it.

This column could never do justice to the array of offerings available locally and in the surrounding areas during the holiday because there are more arts and programs than any one person can fit into a schedule. How fortunate we are to have these riches available to us as Flower Mound residents. If you weren’t able to take advantage of the arts programs this season, make it a New Year’s resolution to experience the local arts scene during 2018.

This year, the Cultural Arts Commission is looking forward to an exciting new year. Members of the commission have been involved in choosing the animals that will become a part of the bronze sculptures featured in Heritage Park. We’re expecting to see some of those sculptures installed in the park this year.

The Arts Commission is investigating the possibility of having some of the Flower Mound electric boxes painted or wrapped in vinyl, turning the boxes into a metal canvas, with varied themes featured on those boxes. Several surrounding communities feature art on the electric boxes, and it’s a way to not only liven up the green boxes, but to give the community residents a chance to appreciate local artists and their creations. If you want to read more about the painting of boxes in other communities, visit this site: www.nrhtx.com/790/Signal-Art-Program.

Also, this year the Town and the Cultural Arts Commission are working on creating an arts master plan for Flower Mound. It’s our goal to have a formal recommendation for an arts master plan by fall 2018. As the work commences on the creation of a master plan, community residents will have an opportunity to offer input through discussion groups and surveys. It’s the start of an exciting time for the town.

As 2018 unfolds, we’ll continue to feature the Cross Timbers artists and keep you posted on the development of the town arts program. Again, Happy Holidays to all Flower Mound residents, and we can all look forward to rich, varied and new arts offerings all year!